


Day Six: Swansong for a Night

by BlixaLooksCarsick



Series: Shumako Week 2k19 [6]
Category: Megami Tensei, Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei, persona - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Double Date, F/M, Fluff, Karaoke, night out, shumako, stage fright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 20:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17474684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlixaLooksCarsick/pseuds/BlixaLooksCarsick
Summary: Day Six: Double Date / Date NightKaraoke night, featuring performance anxiety, self-doubt, and copious amounts of adoration.





	Day Six: Swansong for a Night

“Baby, I could rule the world, with a girl like you in my arms.” The razor grazed the first buds of facial hair off young skin easy. Akira Kurusu mostly took after his mother, through the gentle sharpness of his factions, and the thick, wild, black hair. Approaching his twenties, he started to see some of his father on the bottom half of his face. Only time would tell if he would eventually grow as mighty a beard as the sailor. In the meantime, he could start getting used to the quotidian task of shaving. 

“Baby, I could rule the world, with a girl like you in my arms.” Just another box to tick on the daily list. A task so mundane it could turn mindless, and it did after a week. He did not usually get to it with much enthusiasm. Today was different, however. For the mundane had turned extraordinary in the expectation of tonight. 

“Baby, I could rule the world, with a girl like you in my arms.” Akira thought of a song he heard only a few days ago. One verse repeated constantly, though the song never got dull. 

“Hey, knock it off in there, Sukiyaki.” Boss’ gruff voice and the knock on the restroom door startled the young man. 

The next second he looked at himself in the mirror, a thin red line travelled along his face, just below the cheekbone, all the way to his jaw. One to tick off the list, the young man thought to himself. He carefully applied a tiny square of toilet paper to his face after cleaning off what remained of the foam. He hoped the cut would heal by that evening, unlikely as it was, or that at least the soft lighting in Arancia would hide it. 

“A bit brusque, don’t you think, Boss?” Akira said to Sojiro with a slight hint of anger.

“You know the rules, kid. Restroom must be free when the first customer comes.” Boss said nonchalantly while preparing a blend for the aforementioned first customer.

“I guess I forgot.”

“Keep that in mind.” Boss lifted his eyes off the press and instantly caught sight of the little square turned red. “Did you cut yourself shaving?” He chuckled.

“Yes. That sort of thing tends to happen when one knocks on the door like that.”

“Well, you’d be fine if you concentrated more on the shaving and less on the singing.”

Akira blinked.

“Was I singing?” 

“Oh, yeah. A bit later, and you’d have given a show for everyone.”

“It wasn’t half bad.” The customer said. He was not a regular yet, but seemed comfortable enough to contribute to the conversation.

Akira reddened a little.

“Well what do you know, kid? It’s a win-win. You sing good and you dress your wounds good-ish.” Sojiro turned to the customer as he served his cup. “He’s taking his girlfriend out tonight, you see.”

“Boss…” The young man started to protest. It was rare for him to get bashful like this.

“Am I lying, kid?”

“Nope. It is karaoke night.” He acknowledged with a grin creeping into the left corner of his mouth. 

Akira worked only half of his usual shift that day. Yuuki would cover him for the later half, as they agreed two days before. Strictly speaking, the young man could well work his whole shift and still make the date without a hitch – that was the way Makoto and he handled their nights out. But this time he felt he may as well make himself available for some preparatory support, if needed. 

Makoto could not bring herself to say no, probably more out of consideration for Ann and Ryuji’s excitement than actual willingness. She read it in their faces when they asked, and to turn them down would drown the young woman in guilt for days to come. Thus, she said yes, all the while she mentally scolded Futaba for sharing that video in the chat group. The officer in training did not know what flustered her the most: that the girl had recorded her without her knowing, or that nobody would shut up about how well she sounded. 

At least her boyfriend was lighter on that regard.

Singing was not a hobby nor a passion for Makoto Niijima; it was a habit she developed to keep her concentration and her cool during increasingly harder tasks. She never did it at a high volume, just enough to feel the reverberation of the sound on her vocal cords. Futaba had excused herself to go to the restroom on one day when ‘Mum-koto’ helped her prepare for her college entrance exams. These breaks allowed the young woman to sort through a few materials of her own. With nobody else around, she felt at liberty to sing the first lines to “Kasanaru Kage” at a far lower tempo than the actual song, essentially making a lullaby out of the ballad.

Makoto never noticed that Futaba was taking a bit longer than expected. In truth, Futaba had come out of the restroom several minutes ago.

Akira said little on the matter; he knew how sensitive Makoto was about a few things, especially when it came to acknowledging her own graces beyond her diligence and commitment. Still, he played that video over and over that night in his room, with a wide, boyish smile on his face. The volume left much to be desired, and the video quality could be better. Futaba had to compromise on a few things to maintain the furtiveness of her intent to catch Makoto off guard.

Still, Makoto’s voice sounded lovely. She really did sing well. He might get to hear her sing later, if she gave in to Ann and Ryuji’s playful pressure. And if she stood her ground, Akira would at least still get to serenade his girlfriend. All at once, the coming prospect of Karaoke night felt like a flashback to the earlier days of their relationship. It was a wonder that, of all the incredibly cheesy though charming things Akira said, actually singing to his girlfriend went neglected.

Akira hummed the day along until he got the text message from Makoto. She was outside.

“Hi.” Makoto smiled awkwardly from the seat of her motorbike. 

“Hi.” Akira greeted her with a kiss. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” She said, visibly not feeling okay. “So… let’s go. Ann and Ryuji are probably waiting for us.” 

“That they probably are.” Akira paused for a moment. “Ah, Arancia is in Shibuya. We could get there pretty direct on the subway if you’re not feeling good to ride.”

“No, it’s fine.” Makoto managed a slightly more trusting smile. “I need the air anyway.”

“Alright, my Queen.” He sat behind Makoto, putting on second the helmet she always carried on her bike. He surrounded her waist firmly with his arms. “Let’s go.”

[ ]

The sun had barely set by the time Makoto and Akira arrived at Arancia. The soda joint had done quite well in the last few months, and as way of celebrating a productive year, the elusive manager installed a small karaoke area upstairs. While they could not dream of ever competing with the actual karaoke joint further down the street, they could afford to spoil their patrons a little and gently persuade them into spending a little more on the soft drinks.

Ryuji and Ann were both already seated on the plush red love seats circling a table made out of orange polished marble. There was also singing already – unbelievably dreadful singing, courtesy of Yasunori Kujo, waiter extraordinaire and friend of Akira from his Juvie days. Makoto cringed at the very moment she was within earshot, while Akira could not help but shake his head at his friend’s notably horrendous display. However, as Ryuji and Ann’s peculiarly enraptured expressions indicated, there was something oddly engaging about how badly Yasunori butchered “JUDGEMENT”. He was aware of his bad singing, but at the same time, did not mind it much. 

At the end of the song, Akira, Ryuji and Ann would not have protested if their waiter picked another song to ‘perform’. Makoto also would have no problem with it, but for an entirely different reason. Unfortunately for the police-officer-in-training, Yasunori got back to his duties as soon as the song came to a merciful end. 

“Strider! Makoto-san! Good to see you! How did you like the song?”

“It was quite terrible, Yasunori. It’s good to see you too.” Akira greeted his friend.

“It really wasn’t so bad, Yasunori-kun.” Makoto said. “Maybe you’d like to sing a little more?”

“I am in the mood for it.” The waiter nodded enthusiastically. “But I do have to bring you your drinks. Plus, Ann here tells me you’re quite a good singer. Wouldn’t dream of daring to take the spotlight.”

“I see.” Makoto managed to say beneath her anxious irritation.

“Alright, then. So, the usual?” Yasunori shifted to his role as a waiter.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Makoto sounded a little dejected.

“Same here.” Akira put a supportive arm around his girlfriend. 

“Is something wrong, Makoto?” Ann asked her friend. 

“I’m just a little nervous, is all.” She downplayed how badly her nerves twisted all about her body as she took a seat.

“Why? You’re gonna kill it, Queen!” Ryuji said, unaware of how little he helped her mood.

“Anyway!” Akira steered the conversation away from the singing. “It’s been a while since we’ve gone on an actual double date, no?” The young man tried to delay the night’s ‘main event’ as much as he could while still leaving enough time for everyone to enjoy themselves. This involved showing particular interest in minutiae and even casually bringing attention to the fact that he cut himself shaving that morning. This worked for a short time, during which Makoto did not appear able to relax as the rest. Akira hoped she would at least get to like him singing to her.

[ ]

As expected, both Ryuji and Ann were the first to jump at the chance of singing. Their choices were also suitably upbeat to set the mood. Ryuji was not a great singer, but he was far from unpleasant; in fact, his choices played well to his strengths, and even Makoto herself moved to the beat and melody, if only moderately. Ann’s chosen songs were a tad more diverse, mostly soft and soothing. Akira picked somewhat old-fashioned songs that never did go out of style. 

“Since Morgana isn’t here, I’ll be the one to say it.” Ann laughed. “Sounding cool, Joker!”

“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week.” The young man played it cool, though he truly did like the praise. 

“Yo, someone’s been quiet. What’s up, Queen? You’re not having a good time?” Ryuji said.

“Oh! No, I really am enjoying myself.” That was not necessarily a lie. “It’s great hearing you all sing.”

“I know what’s going on.” Ann smiled. “You have stage fright. Well, I know just the song to inspire you!” The model hopped off the love seat and frantically browsed through the machine’s songs. Her face lit bright upon finding the song she wanted. 

Ann sung “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, a song perfectly suited for her, being the one with the most proficiency in English. All throughout the song, she gestured at the group’s Queen, encouraging to join them, and motioning at her boyfriend on a few lines. 

Though Makoto was not yet as used to the language as Ann, she understood the lyrics well. And the effect Ann sought by picking this song worked like a charm. Blushing beyond control, Makoto felt everybody’s eyes on her, even Yasunori and the rest of the customers’, even if the latter were not even on the same floor. It was not peer pressure what got her to budge, rather the sheer theatricality of it all: the moment demanded that she follow next. 

Dragging still some unease behind her, Makoto walked towards the karaoke machine and looked through the songs until she found one she knew well. She steadied herself as she would before any other challenging task, and steeled herself to give it her all.

Yet she missed her cue to begin the song. She sung the first line at mistime, as well as the second and so forth until she awkwardly reached the chorus, by which time she uttered uncomfortably more than actually singing. Her friends’ expressions never soured once, but she still could not keep her cool anymore. Makoto excused herself as best she could, and hurried towards the restroom. She caught sight of Ryuji and Ann’s faces, and how they turned concerned. As for Akira, she did not even want to look at him in the eye. 

The sound of the door shutting prevailed in their ears over the hollow tune of the song still playing. Ryuji and Ann exchanged looks of worry, then turning to Akira.

“Did… we do something wrong?” Ann asked ashamed.

“No… that’s not it.” Akira let out a long sigh. “Let me just… I’ll be right back.” 

[ ]

Makoto sat on the restroom’s floor, face buried in her knees. Her first thought when she heard about the double date was not joyous anticipation, but anxiety over an outcome she dreaded, which ended up happening just as she feared. Now, she could not help but thinking of how much Akira, Ryuji and Ann were enjoying themselves, and how her botch had derailed it all. In her mind, she ruined everybody’s night and made a fool of herself. 

She should have pretended to be ill, she should have claimed to have a sore throat, she thought to herself. She should have kept a closer eye on Futaba and ensure she would keep what she heard a secret…

Then, a gentle knock on the door.

“Makoto?” Akira’s voice. Of course he would be outside, worrying about her instead of having a good time with the others.

“Please leave me alone.” Makoto responded, all spirit gone out of her.

“Makoto...”

“Don’t.”

“Please, tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Akira… Nevermind, I’ll come out now.”

“Take your time if you need it.”

“No. Other customers may want to use the restroom.”

“Forget about the other customers, Makoto. Take your time.”

He could hear a sigh escaping Makoto’s lips on the other side. 

“I screwed up. Everything was going fine until…” Makoto cut in the middle of her own train of thought. “Why did Futaba have to show that to you guys!? Why must I be such a killjoy!?”

Akira went quiet for a moment. He sat on the floor right by the door.

“I think she just liked hearing you sing, and thought that we all would too. She was not wrong, you know. And you didn’t ruin anything. You never do, Makoto.”

“Please don’t say things like that to make me feel better.”

“I mean it, Makoto. Every moment you spend with us, with me, is better just because you’re in it. I don’t know what goes on in Futaba’s head, but I’m pretty sure she did what she did because she admires you, and she likes when you shine.”

Makoto looked up, picturing her boyfriend sitting right next to her through the door. 

“You didn’t pull off the song, but so what? That happens to everybody, especially the first time. It happened to me too, and still does sometimes. But then, this is not a competition. We’re all here to have a good time together.”

“But…”

“Ryuji and Ann got worried, is all, because they care about you. Who cares about botching a song? Honestly, when we’re together anywhere, all I really want and hope is for you to have the time of your life. I think… we can still work that out, if you want.”

“Akira.” The way she said his name – he felt it on his skin, like one of those long kisses she placed on his cheek or his forehead. Innocent, loving, sincere.

Makoto wasted no more time to return to the others, holding tight to Akira’s arm. 

“Are you okay. Makoto?” Ann asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine now.” She meant it. “The night is still young.”

“True.” Her boyfriend squeezed her hand gently. “Then, if there’s no objection on the matter, I’m going to do something I wanted to do for a long time.”

“What’s that, bro?” Ryuji asked.

“I’m going to sing for my girlfriend.” There was a visible spring in his step as he went towards the machine. “Now, a bit of a disclaimer. My English is still pretty rubbish, and I don’t really get the lyrics. I’m not sure it’s a love song, to be honest. But it’s one of my favourites.”

“Okay?” Makoto raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to expect.

“I dedicate this performance to the light of my days.” Akira made an exaggerated flourish reminiscent of his days as a Phantom Thief.

The song in question was quite unfamiliar to all, but as the intro with guitar and piano gave way to lyrics, it sounded like one tailored for him to sing. “Strangers When We Meet” by David Bowie. Akira’s voice, slightly deep and sweet, fit the author’s sensual, sometimes melancholic tones so well that even his poor handling of the language could easily be overlooked. That much could be said as far as performance. But to Makoto, it was an entirely different experience. 

Every movement on his body, from the mechanical to choicest, every flirty, picaresque glance he threw at her, and every sound that came out of his lips was like an arrow aimed directly at her heart. It was as if he was trying to make her fall in love with him all over again. And dear, she was. Half-way through the song, she brought her hand to her chest, while the other ended up just below her lower lip, softly nibbling at her index finger. Had she a little less control of herself at the moment, she would have needed to fan herself by the time the song ended at the five minute mark. 

As the last bittersweet sounds faded out, Joker faced their friends, and bowed. He was happy about being here today with friends he loved. And he was even happier that Makoto was here, with him.

The young woman held her breath captive for a second before standing up with steely resolve. There was still some nervousness about her step, but the inside of her mind and heart were a different landscape than earlier. All she hoped for is that the song she wanted was available.

“Kasanaru Kage.”

As if charmed by the magic of the fortuitous, she had the chance to dazzle her friends, and Akira, by returning to the favourite that brought this occasion into being. It started with the chorus accompanied by a lonesome guitar.

“Sharing a shadow, we look for strength from the bottom of our hearts. /  
I don’t care, even if I fall or lose faith, /  
Because I’m not alone.”

This time, she had to sing at the song’s actual tempo, quicker than she was used to. It sounded just a little awkward, but every word fell where it should.

“The setting sun already starts to shine towards tomorrow. /  
Look at the shadow that connects our hearts and leads us there.”

If once the song became a tender lullaby in Makoto’s lips, it now exceeded the song’s original spirit, as she began to sing with more confidence.

“When I see you looking down, it looks like you’re crying. /  
Because you look so weak, straining your heart and holding it all in. /  
Throw all you have in your chest, and let’s take a step forward. /  
Let’s seek out a new you. /  
Don’t worry, you don’t have to hide anything: /  
I’ll always be with you, and I’ll never let go of your hand.”

The chorus returned, this time with full intensity and momentum. Makoto needed not even look at the lyrics, for this all came out of her heart. And it showed. Beyond singing, she swayed vigorously to the beat of the song, the strands of her hair swaying back and forth, and the folds of her clothes bouncing up and down. Ryuji and Ann both moved along to the rhythm commanded by the Queen. But when it came to Akira, the look in her eyes – so full of life – had him nailed to his seat.

“Sharing a shadow, we look for strength from the bottom of our hearts. /  
I don’t care, even if I fall or lose faith, /  
Because I’m not alone.”

At the end, Akira was breathless. It was a joy to see his girlfriend having fun in a situation so unfamiliar to her, taking a little habit she viewed as almost therapeutic and enjoying it as something more, acknowledging as one of her graces. He almost lamented that nobody had recorded it, but that also made it more special, because it was a unique performance, one he was fortunate to have seen in the flesh, one that would live forever in him.

It was funny, he thought, that he told Makoto he hoped every time she would end up having the time of her life. Tonight, overcome when it came to serenading a significant other, it was he who was having the time of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs referenced above:
> 
> "Baby" by Phenomenal Handclap Band  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfKMK3sw_g)
> 
> "JUDGEMENT" from the Yakuza 0 soundtrack  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLDo-jHcvAQ)
> 
> "Dancing Queen" by Abba  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtSYZRWBT6c)
> 
> "Strangers When We Meet" by David Bowie  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8YAzDDOCbY)
> 
> "Kasanaru Kage" from the Gintama soundtrack  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTtwc00q-oo)


End file.
